Lawrence C. ‘Larry’ Tisdel ’54

Lawrence C. “Larry” Tisdel ’54 of Port O’Conner, Texas, died on February 18, 2010. Born in 1932, Larry was raised in Brighton, Colo., where he attended public school and received a scholarship to Mines. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and earned a degree in petroleum refining engineering. Shortly after graduation, he was drafted and served in the Korean War. During his service, Larry worked on rocket development in Huntsville, Ala. He finished his tour of duty with a G-13 rating and was then employed by Shell Chemical Co. in Pittsburg, Calif. In 1959, while working on a master’s degree at the University of California at Berkeley, Larry met and married Elizabeth Noble Cathcart. The couple returned to Colorado in 1962, where they resided for more than 40 years. During most of that time, Larry and his family lived in the foothills above Golden, while Larry worked at the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute until retiring in 1983. Larry shared his love of hiking, backpacking, motorcycling, kayaking and fly fishing with family and friends. He also became a partner of the Flying X Ranch in Wyoming and purchased a winter home in Port O’Conner, Texas. Larry is survived by his former wife, Elizabeth C. Tisdel, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; daughters, Anne Beecroft and Elizabeth Holmstead; son, Curtis; and eight grandchildren.